PISCIS AUSTRALIS

The Southern Fish

Piscis Australis - Alexander Jamieson - 1822

Piscis Australis is linked to the constellation Aquarius, in that the stream of water pouring from the jar of Aquarius appears to disappear into the fish's mouth. Perhaps the fish is swimming in it. There does not seem to be a common legend explaining the presence of the southern fish or its connection to the water bearer. There are many theories, as there always are, but since the grouping of stars actually do look somewhat like a fish, perhaps that is all there is to it.

Piscis Australis has only one claim to fame, and that is its very bright alpha star, Fomalhaut, from the Arabic Fum al Hut, the mouth of the fish. With a magnitude of 1.17, it is the eighteenth brightest star in the sky, and far outshines all the other stars around it, which is why it is sometimes called The Solitary One. Since it is so bright and easy to find, Fomalhaut makes a good signpost for the relatively faint constellations around it.

The most exciting aspect of Fomalhaut is that it supports a planetary system. At a distance of only 25 light years, it is one of the closest planetary systems to Earth. In 2005, the Hubble Space Telescope imaged a thick ring of dust and debris around Fomalhaut. The fact that the ring is not exactly centered on the star, indicates other sources of gravity - presumably one or more planets - are pulling the ring off center. Below is a NASA artist's rendering of what the Fomalhaut system may look like.

Alphabetical Links to the Constellations

ANDROMEDA AQUARIUS AQUILA ARIES AURIGA BOOTES CAMELOPARDALIS CANCER CANES VENATICI CANIS MAJOR CANIS MINOR CAPRICORNUS CARINA CASSIOPEIA CENTAURUS CEPHEUS CETUS COLUMBA COMA BERENICES CORONA AUSTRALIS CORONA BOREALIS CORVUS CRATER CRUX CYGNUS DELPHINUS DORADO DRACO EQUULEUS ERIDANUS FORNAX GEMINI HERCULES HYDRA LACERTA LEO LEO MINOR LEPUS LIBRA LUPUS LYNX LYRA MONOCEROS OPHIUCHUS ORION PEGASUS PERSEUS PISCES PISCIS AUSTRALIS PUPPIS SAGITTA SAGITTARIUS SCORPIUS SCULPTOR SCUTUM SERPENS SEXTANS TAURUS TUCANA URSA MAJOR URSA MINOR VIRGO VULPECULA